Wheelie was nothing to do with accident

Question: I have an insurance claim going through following a bike accident in the summer. My bike was damaged with repairs costing $1100 and I got away with cuts and bruises.

The accident happened when a car pulled out across me while I was filtering at a low speed and with no junctions ahead for some distance.

My opponent’s insurer is stating that because two witnesses are saying I pulled a wheelie one mile before where the accident happened, I was riding dangerously and I am to blame for the accident.

Although I admit pulling a wheelie I don’t think it had anything to do with the accident!

Chris Edwards

Answer: I agree with you. You admit pulling a wheelie which is actually an example of dangerous driving as far as the police are concerned, so you are fortunate that the police did not see it.

However, that wheelie was one mile before the accident scene and had no bearing on the accident circumstances.

You need to argue that the two events were completely separate and that the cause of this accident was the car driver’s negligence in failing to spot your correctly proceeding vehicle.

It would be helpful if you had witnesses confirming the sensible speed at which you were filtering and a detailed plan of the road layout to show that there were no junctions in the vicinity.

I am confident that a court would not find that the wheelie had anything to do with the accident.

See original post at: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/insurance/insurance-advice/making-a-claim/2010/december/dec1510-wheelie-was-nothing-to-do-with-accident-/